


To Our Debuts

by shinealightrose



Category: UNIQ (Band), Winner (Band)
Genre: M/M, canon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 07:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5531345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinealightrose/pseuds/shinealightrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last time they met, maybe Sungjoo crossed a line.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Our Debuts

**Author's Note:**

> Canon premise, because they trained together for many years, and I have this picture in my head of their continuing, though time-strained friendship, and maybe something more.

Sungjoo taps his foot and checks his watch. It’s a quarter after ten, and Jinwoo is late of course. Probably lost of course. He chews on his lower lip, not wanting to be caught laughing by himself. He already looks odd enough, that he’s sitting slumped down in the back booth of the restaurant in which they agreed to meet. He’s been through three cups of coffee and now slurps water so that he can hopefully avoid the oncoming caffeine buzz.

He waves off the waiter again when she comes by to serve him, her eyes already curious enough. Sungjoo doubts she’ll recognize him by face alone though, and probably by name. Unless prompted, there’s a larger part of Korean society that doesn’t know he’s the main vocalist for an idol group that trained here before they were shipped off to China.

Jinwoo though- it’s likelier that he’ll be recognized, rookie status and all.

The door opens and a large bundled jacket sweeps through the door in a hurry. Sungjoo smiles. Beneath that mass of fake fur-lined coat will be Jinwoo, right on- well, thirty minutes late.

The newcomer sweeps the restaurant with a toss of his head and then heads towards the back. Sungjoo sits up to his full height and represses a grin of absolute delight.

“H-Hey,” Jinwoo says as he slips into the booth. It’s small and round, the kind that could seat at least four. Jinwoo leaves about that much room between them and his eyes, though pretty, look around cautiously. As if he’s measuring the other people around them, as if he’s measuring Sungjoo himself.

“Find the place alright?” Sungjoo asks.

“I…” Jinwoo looks up, a proper greeting finally. “No.” Then he lets out a chuckle. It thaws some of the tension and Sungjoo relaxes too.

“It’s good to see you.”

“It…it is.”

The first unhindered smile, the first twinkle in Jinwoo’s eyes. Sungjoo hasn’t seen either in so long.

“It’s been awhile, right? A year?”

“Something like that,” Jinwoo agrees. He takes off his coat and sets it on the seat between them, a barrier of sorts. Sungjoo purposefully doesn’t glance towards it. “I’m really sorry I was late. Am I keeping you out too late? You don’t have to leave soon?”

“No.” Sungjoo shakes his head. “I’ve got a few more hours. Yixuan is covering for me in case our manager pops in. What about you?”

“Same. Or well, it’s okay if I sneak out every now and then. They let us do that, in moderation.”

“Lucky you,” says Sungjoo fondly. Too fondly perhaps. Jinwoo’s face tightens and he looks down at the menu.  

“Did you order?”

“No. I was waiting for you.”

Their catching-up goes on hold when the waitress comes back around. If she recognizes either of them she doesn’t say anything, but even as she walks away, Jinwoo looks around again frightened.

Sungjoo bites the inside of his lip, wishing he could calm him down. Wishing he could at least put a hand on Jinwoo’s arm and remind him that it doesn’t matter if anybody sees them, this isn’t a date, and their fans already know that the two are friends.

Touching him though, when Jinwoo is already jumpy, wouldn’t be a good idea.

“So how was Japan?” he asks instead, successfully drawing Jinwoo’s attention back to him.

“It was good. Pretty good. How about you? And China?” he asks in return.

Sungjoo answers him as best he can, trying to keep the heartache at bay.

“I bet your Japanese is improving a lot.”

It’s the conversation of two acquaintances meeting again after a long time, not the reunion of two best friends, like once they were.

And it hurts.

“I brought you something actually,” says Jinwoo, fishing around in his jacket pockets for something. Sungjoo follows his hands but doesn’t say anything until Jinwoo pulls out a small plastic bag wrapped around itself. It’s no wider than the small of Jinwoo’s palm as he unwraps it and puts it on the table in front of Sungjoo. A small porcelain replica of a shibu dog.

“It’s not much, but hey, I could have given you an autographed picture of my face, so… I remembered you liked dogs.” Jinwoo laughs airily.

“I do. I like it,” says Sungjoo, and then admits, “I… didn’t bring anything for you.”

“That’s okay. You didn’t have to bring anything.” Jinwoo settles back into the cushioned seat and plays with his hands distractingly.

“And you didn’t have to get me a souvenir from Japan,” Sungjoo laughs. Just yourself, seeing you, that’s all I need, he thinks.

“Well…” Jinwoo blushes.

“I missed you.”

Jinwoo blushes even more, but he shakes his head, as if shaking away Sungjoo’s feelings, just as he’s always done.

Best friends, that’s all they can be.

And lately, since they were separated, they are barely even that.

“I guess you’ll be promoting again in Korea soon?” Sungjoo changes the subject.

Jinwoo smiles, relieved. “Yeah. For a while. Feels good to be back home again. And you guys? When you do head back to China?”

“In three days,” Sungjoo answers quickly.

It seems their paths will cross and keep crossing once again.

“Ahh, well,” says Jinwoo sadly. He mulls over the tabletop for a moment and then looks up and smiles. “At least tonight we each have to eat. Shall we? For old times’ sake?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
The last time they had a meal like this was a whole summer ago.

A quieter place, more shadows than light.

‘H-Hey,’ Jinwoo had greeted him, Sungjoo responding with a hug.

Destined for different things.

‘Did you find the place alright?’

‘I… no,’ Jinwoo had laughed.

‘Guess it’s going to be a while then till we next meet.’

‘Yeah… To debuting though!’

‘To our debuts!’ Sungjoo laughed in turn.

When they parted later, Sungjoo had hugged him again. And then he did something they’d never done before.

Jinwoo was shocked, confused. But his lips were soft, as were his cheeks where Sungjoo held him lightly in place. And for a few seconds, he responded as well. Just for a few seconds.

Then they parted and said no more.


End file.
